Memories
by NeverLander22
Summary: Theres a terrible accident in the Pride Lands, and someone very significant loses their memory! The pride has to learn to cope with this devastating blow, as they try to fix the damage that has been done in this adventure of recollection; going back in time to visit the good (and the bad) memories.
1. Prologue

_A/N: Am I gonna have as much luck remaking this story? Possibly. All I can do is say- this will be even better than the first time I wrote it._

She was always there for him. At a young age the two were found to be inseparable, unable to be apart for long. When he would think of impossible plans that were sure to get him in trouble, she always went along with them wanting the 'thrill of the chase'. They rarely fought and were always carefree around each other.

She was there in the jungle. The night they reunited, instantly there were sparks. From the moment they first came back together, they knew it was meant to be; that no two lions were made for each other such as they. He knew loved her with all his heart, he knew that for sure. Nala was the one lioness that he knew he wanted to be with. Then she suggested that he go home...

While he had spent his entirety in the jungle living a life of Hakuna Matata, she was at home holding out hope that one day he would return. That one day he would come home, claim his kingdom, and fix everything that had been wronged over the years. She hoped that things would return to the way they used to be; the way things still should be.

Nala was there.

Throughout the fighting she was by his side willing to do anything to get their home back, or die trying. During the chaos, one could catch the two passing glances at each other and smirking slightly.

Nala listened as Simba let out a roar of triumph once he had reclaimed the throne and rid the Pride Lands of the dictator, Scar. She smiled knowing that THIS was a new beginning. For everyone.

The two of them would rebuild the lands together. They loved each other and believed that this would never change. Who knew their life together would be altered forever in just one day.

 _A/N: Here it is, a lot shorter prologue than I expected. However, I wasn't planning on this chapter being very long, so I'll leave it at this. Hope you enjoyed!_


	2. 1: The Lioness Hunt

_A/N: This chapter was a HUGE hit when I first wrote the story, and I hope it's still that good._

Silence set in the savannah as the animals grazed in the long grass quietly. Gazelle, antelope, zebra, buffalo, wildebeest, and more lowered their heads to munch on the green substance. The colors of the savannah melted together to make new combinations of shades as the sun was just beginning its' ascent into the sky, signaling for the animals to start their day. Deep in a certain den, one special lioness lay awake.

The Queen blinked wildly as the sun's rays entered the den, the golden shine blinding her temporarily. She was thankful for the sun finally brightening her world. Throughout the dark night, Nala had experienced a series of nightmares; all including _him_. The lion who had made her life miserable for so many years. Some of the images had been burned into her memory forever, never to be forgotten.

The Shadowland that her home had become, the way the hyenas treated her pride and the other animals, the way _Scar_ treated her pride and her... These things Nala knew would never be forgotten. They were much too horrifying.

Late in the night Nala had accidentally kicked her mate who stirred in his sleep. The lioness clasped her paws over her mouth, hoping that it wasn't enough to wake him. Slowly however, Simba's eyes opened and he focused on his wide-eyed queen.

"Nala?" he whispered. "What's the matter? Are you okay?" his voice held a sudden urgency and worry in it.

"Y-yes," Nala hadn't realized it, but her voice quivered and her body shook violently in the darkness.

"No you're not, you're shaking. Come here," Simba laid his paw over his mates' shoulders and let her cuddle into his mane. "Did you have another nightmare?"

"No." The lioness responded a little too quickly. She didn't want to bother Simba with her dreams considering that he still had nightmares of the stampede.

He gave a doubtful look. "I'm fine, honest." she tried to sound calm, but failed terribly. The lioness laid her head down on her mates paws and closed her eyes. The King looked sadly at his queen and laid his head gently on hers. He slowly drifted back to sleep.

Nala hadn't gone back to sleep peacefully or quickly. In fact, she stayed awake till the moon was high in the sky. Later, she decided that she should take a walk to clear her head. When that didn't work, she gave up and went home before anyone could notice her absence.

This wasn't the first time that Nala had been plagued with a sleepless night. It was hard for her to forget the time that she spent in the Pride Lands under Scar's rule. The tormenting, green eyes of a dictator, the pink scar over his left eye... Nala shook her head. The sun was shining and it was time for her to prepare herself as well as the other lionesses for the hunt.

"Good morning, dear," Sarafina yawned, walking out into the cool, crisp morning air.

"Morning mom," Nala smiled and nuzzled her mom slightly.

"How did you sleep?" Sarafina knew her daughter better than anybody else and she understood the nightmares and hard nights of sleep that the young queen was experiencing all the time.

Nala sighed, "Just fine." she lied, not wanting to revisit her nights ordeals.

"You're sure?" asked Sarafina. Even though her daughter was was fully grown, the new Queen, and would be expecting her own cub sooner or later, Nala was still her little baby.

"Positive," Nala smiled at her mom reassuringly. "Now come one, are we going to hunt or not?" The lioness turned and went to search for the others.

"We'll split up into two parties," Nala announced once all the lionesses and Simba were gathered around the den's entrance. "Tama, mom, Sarabi, you'll come with me." Even at their advanced ages Sarabi and Sarafina were still considered two of the best huntresses in the pride. "Shari, Akila, Mari, Jenani, you'll go together. Amali, you know you have to stay behind because of your sickness." the frail lioness nodded sadly.

"Are we ready?" Nobody objected. "Take the South, we have the North." The hunt was on.

Simba watched as the lionesses stalked into the long grass, his tail gently swaying behind him. He was truly blessed by the Great Kings. A wonderful Queen by his side, nine lionesses in his Pride to look after and protect, and a beautiful homeland which continued to grow each day. How could life get any better? Simba sighed a content sigh and walked off to do his morning rounds.

Little did he know, things were about to change on the hunting grounds... and in his Pride.

"We all know the plan, right?" Nala questioned her team one last time. She got nods of affirmation from the girls and then responded with, "move out."

The way that Nala had thought this through was rather simple. She would have Sarafina and Sarabi circle to the sides of the herd, have Tama hang in the back just in case one ran her way, and the queen herself would circle around to the front and lead the initial charge. The target today; zebra. The animals were strong, stubborn, and wouldn't give up a fight easily. If one of their strong hooves managed a kick into a lioness in any place, they would surely sustain a long lasting injury.

Nala snuck around the bushes, slowly crawling her way to what she considered the front of the herd. There were fourteen or so zebra calmly grazing in the shortened grass. As she circled the herd Nala eyed them, picking the one who she felt would benefit her family the most. A large buck she found suitable. Watching her target, Nala crouched into position. From the back, Tama nodded to Sarafina who relayed the message back to Nala is a secret fashion. Taking in a deep breath, Nala closed her eyes... then charged. The girls were at a close enough range that she felt comfortable starting the chase right then and there.

Once Sarafina saw Nala move, she inched closer, preparing herself to pounce on anything that came in jumping distance. Sarabi did the same and Tama moved once she noticed the break in zebra. Her main job was to hold up the end and attack whatever came close.

The Queen started at a trot, then a fast run until she broke to a sprint. Nala was known for her speed and took pride in having animals associate her with this. The world around the zebra's behind blurred and all the lioness saw was the black and white stripes of her prey. Sarabi was left on the fly as all the other zebra ran in the directions of Sarafina and Tama, so she joined in the chase with Nala, knowing that she would need help bringing down such a large animal. Tama saw flashes of black and white, but had lost her footing just as she was about to pounce, leaving her empty pawed. Sarafina was practically crushed by all the zebra who came shooting past her. Not having a good chance to catch one, she trotted with Tama after the remaining two lionesses.

Nala's focus could not be averted by anything. When she was in the zone, nothing could break her field of vision and her goal was already set. That zebra would be hers. She wouldn't have it any other way. All those unsuccessful hunts were often overpaid by the successful meals that the girls captured and Nala was determined to make sure that this was one of those mornings. Folding her ears down to her head, Nala pushed herself harder to get closer and closer to that buck. So close yet so far. _Focus,_ she thought to herself. With that, Nala's mind went blank. Once again all she cared about was that zebra.

Coming closer and closer, she began to set herself up for a good pounce. A nice pounce which would land her on the back of her prey where she could push him down, give the last blow. The task at hand was a very dangerous one indeed and Nala knew the risks. If she miscalculated her jump- even by a few centimeters- the zebra would have the perfect chance to give her a blow in the stomach, or any other open area of flesh. If she mistimed her leap, then she would have to redo it and that would end the hunt in itself.

Feeling her lungs about to give way, Nala decided _it's now or never_. The lioness flexed her toes in the dirt to get a better grip and used all her might to push off with her back legs. She stretched her body, claws out and ready to grip the zebras skin. Just as she jumped... the zebra's leg bucked up and smacked Nala on the side of her head. Instantly her world went black.

Sarabi watched in complete and utter shock as Nala fell to the ground after catching the worst of the zebras kick. Not a sound was heard as the impact occurred or after the lioness hit the hard dirt. Panting already, Sarabi used all her remaining stamina to catch up to the unconscious lioness. When she arrived, Sarabi was horrified to see Nala not breathing. Or so she thought. Upon coming closer she was both relieved and still scared to see Nala taking in shallow breaths.

"Oh gods," Sarabi panted and nuzzled Nala's neck, trying to get a reaction from her. "Sarafina! Tama!" she yelled, exerting her voice to the wind. The two came shoving through the grass only to see an unconscious and broken looking Nala.

"Nala!" Sarafina screamed, feeling dread flow through her entire body. "Nala, please! Talk to me!"

"Tama go find Rafiki! Tell him to meet us at Pride Rock!" Tama said not a word and ran off as fast as she could to find the old mandrill.

Sarafina pleaded with her daughter, tried to get her to open those emerald colored eyes, but nothing would work. "Sarafina, come on, we have a long walk back to Pride Rock," Sarabi said, pulling her away from the sleeping lioness. "Especially with a dead weight lioness to carry on our backs."

"Rafiki!" Tama yelled. "Rafiki come quick!"

"Who is it?" the ancient voice called down from the large baobab tree.

"Tama! Rafiki, we need your help, there's been a terrible-"

"Accident?" Rafiki finished the girls sentence. "I knew dis would come sooner or later..." he grabbed his stick and lept down the vines of his tree. "Well don't just sit dere like a sack of grass, hurry!"

"Simba!" Sarabi ran up behind her son. He sat having a conversation with Zazu, but Sarabi was in no mood to be polite and wait until they were through. Sarabi breathed heavily and panted harder than she had ever before.

"What's wrong, mom?" the golden King saw the stressed look on his mothers face and began to worry.

"Come... quick..." she said in between her struggled breaths. "It's... Nala..."

Simba's eyes widened and he shot off, not asking any questions of his own.

Sarafina paced the promontory of Pride Rock, anxiously waiting to hear what Rafiki came up with. He was inside now with Nala examining her wounds and checking to see if she would be okay or if she would... Sarafina didn't even want to think of what the alternative option to all of it was. Stopping for a moment, she saw Simba come running, then began pacing again.

"Where is she?" Simba asked as soon as she was in earshot.

"She's inside but Rafiki has instructed everyone to stay out while he looks her over."

"No... what happened?" he demanded answers and wanted them quick.

"Long story short, Nala was in the hunt and kicked on the side of the head by a large male zebra." Sarabi explained, being the only one who knew what happened exactly. Simba's eyes widened as he realized how serious this injury could be to her. If he lost his queen... oh, Simba didn't know what he would do.

"But she's always so consistent... why now..?" he wondered out loud. That was the question in everybody's mind. Why now, after so many hunts, does Nala have this accident. One would think that this sort of thing would happen when she was a younger huntress with less experience.

"You can see her now," Rafiki poked his head out of the den. "But one at a time." Sarafina and Sarabi both looked at Simba. "You go first son," said Sarabi.

"Make sure my baby's okay..." Sarafina resisted the urge to charge into the den and let Simba go first. The steps he took then were more nerve racking than the steps he took ascending Pride Rock for the first time as King on that rainy night when he returned home.

Laying facing one of the walls was the faint figure of Nala. Coming closer, Simba saw the large black spot on the side of her head. _That's where she was hit_. Moving around to her front side, he gently nudged her neck, careful to avoid the sensitive area on her skull. Seeing no motion come from her made Simba want to cry. He walked around her and faced away from her limp body. For moments he sat on the verge of tears, but instead, his heavy sobs came out in scattered breaths.

"Hello?" Simba yelled and whipped around in surprise. Nala looked at him, a confused gaze on her face.

"Nala?" He asked, not believing that she was conscious.

"Umm... sure," her eyes showed a blank and curious look. "Who are you?"

 _A/N: Alright readers, what did you think? Was it good? Bad? Awful? Amazing? Let me know, I hope you enjoyed!_

 _Next chapter: Can it be that she doesn't remember Simba? Or is this all just a cruel trick?_


	3. 2: She Doesn't Remember

_A/N: so here it is, the sad chapter before the fun stuff starts. It is definitely a lot shorter, but I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. Also it took a while to upload! Hopefully it hasn't lost its merit._

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"What?"

"Who are you?" Nala asked again, her eyes focused solely on the golden lion. She now sat up on her hind legs and shifted positions to be more comfortable.

"It's me," Simba took a step closer to his confused mate. "Simba. Don't you remember me?" his voice cracked.

"Should I?" Simba nodded his head and was about to respond, but he stopped himself. Shaking his head, Simba answered, "No, I'm just... I'll come back to see you soon. Just stay here." he slowly walked out of the den and was approached by an anxious Sarafina and his mother as well as two other lionesses.

"Is she okay?"

"What happened?"

"Will she live?"

"Simba, please tell me she's okay!"

"Hush! Let him talk!" All eyes stared intently on the young king as they expected answers on their injured and beloved Queen.

"Umm..." Simba searched for the right words. "She doesn't remember."

"What?" Sarafina panicked. "What do you mean she doesn't remember? Simba, if anything's happened to my baby girl I'll have someone's head!"

Simba saw the stress on everybody's face and tried his best to calm the rampaging mother. "Hello?" Sudden silence. Each lioness went silent as Nala came walking out into the light. "I heard yelling and thought I'd see what's going on..."

"Nala! Darling, are you alright?"

"Nala?" the blue eyed lioness looked around at the five felines. "Who's that?"

"That's you..." Sarafina gasped as she realized what happened. "No... no, this can't be! Nala, honey please! You have to remember! You can't-"

"Sarafina!" Sarabi cut her sentence off and put a paw over her muzzle. "Our friend here is just a little confused, that's all. Let's give her some time to get used all this new stuff, then we can ask questions." Sarafina resisted. "Come now, let's go get a drink at the water hole." Sarabi pushed the distressed lioness away from the scene, doing her best to calm her lifelong friend.

"Who were they?" Nala asked once the two were long in the distance.

"That was Sarafina- the one who acted all crazy. And the other was Sarabi." Tama answered for Simba considering that he was now blue in the face and didn't seem to be taking in any oxygen.

"I'll be back soon..." he turned and walked away, not knowing where exactly he was going. All he knew was that he needed to think.

"Is everybody okay?" Nala was so innocent, not knowing anything about what was going on. She had no idea that she was the source of all this distress.

"Of course," Tama tried to decided what she should do with the confused Queen. "Why don't I take you on a small tour so you can get used to the place, huh?"

"Oh sure," Nala smiled happily. "I'd love to see around." and the two walked off in the opposite direction of everyone else.

Sarafina and Sarabi sat speechlessly by the water hole, neither of them knowing what to say. Just a few hours earlier, Nala had been fine; a healthy lioness, the star of their hunting party. Now, well, she didn't even remember her own name. She didn't know who Simba was, who her own mother was... How would the pride live on like this? If they lost their queen, then... who would help Simba to make the tough decisions?

Sarabi was always one to comfort those who were having a rough time, but at this point, she didn't know what to say. For once, she was at a loss of helpful words.

"I just can't believe..." Sarabi whispered in a faint voice, her eyes glued to the blue liquid of the waterhole.

"No!" Sarafina shouted angrily, "No, this can't happen! What did Nala do to deserve this? She did nothing, she was perfectly healthy-a happy lioness with a loving family." Her voice broke off.

"I'm sure we'll figure something out..." Sarabi placed a comforting paw on her friends shoulder. "Nala is a fighter, Sarafina. She got it after you."

Sarafina looked down shamefully and grumbled, "I could have protected her from this... I feel as though I am to blame. Perhaps I am..."

Sarabi stepped back, amazed that Sarafina could even say such a thing. "Fina, nothing could have protected Nala from that zebra." She firmly stated, "That was going to happen, whether we wanted it to or not."

"But I'm wondering if that had been me in her paws... I could have done more to make it so she was not by herself while running after that buck. I didn't though."

"Nala is her own lioness, she made the decisions. She is the leader of our hunting party and the Queen. She understands that risks and this was just one of them. Trust me, Fina, I wish I could change how things played out but I cannot. And so, I must live with what we have." Sarabi looked down at her paws. "Nala could be dead, Fina. We should be thankful that she is still breathing and well."

Sarafina nodded sadly, "I guess you're right."

"Now come on, lets go find Simba. We need to know what he wants to do-he has to have a plan in that mind of his."

Simba had no clue what he was planning on doing. At the moment, Nala remembered close to nothing, his Pride had no food, and half the lionesses were out on their hunt, having no idea what had happened. Thinking on it, he needed to be with his Pride more than anything. Afterall, he was the king, these were part of the decisions he had to make in order to keep his Pride healthy and living. But how was he supposed to go back on a note like this?

The golden lion sat quietly under a largely shading tree. His mind and heart raced together, both wanting to cross the finish line first. Did Nala truly not remember? Perhaps the lionesses had planned this out. Had Simba forgotten something? An anniversary? Birthday? He had been so busy lately, maybe something had slipped his mind and this was her way of getting back at him. _No, this is way too serious._ Sadly, his hypothesis seemed so out of reach that it was only a hope.

"Simba?" A feminine voice pulled Simba out of his thoughts and he looked up to see his mother and Sarafina staring at him with worried expressions.

"What do I do, mom?" he asked. Sarabi felt awful. What could she do to lessen her sons' pain? One could hear the pure desperation from the lions voice, they could see the intense fear showing through in his auburn eyes.  
Sarabi sighed, "Oh son... I'm not sure if we can do anything." Simba stared down at his paws.

"I can't even begin to think of a way we can-"

"Nala!" Sarabi noticed the two lionesses approaching them all from behind the eyes of Simba and Sarafina. "Hello, darling! What are you two doing here, Tama?" Sarabi talked in her calmest and most soft tone.

"Nala wanted to come around and see this area, I had no idea that you three would be here..." Tama felt panicked, her eyes nervously looking left to right.

"Oh, no it's fine," Simba did his best to manage a smile for the confused lioness. "Perhaps we should all head back to Pride Rock. Is anyone hungry?"

"Actually, I am," Nala piped up, feeling the contents of her stomach dangerously low.

"Perfect, then we can all go and eat, the lionesses should be back by now."

A small group of lionesses sat at the base of Pride Rock, all with what looked to be grieving faces. The huntresses had returned successfully with a male wildebeest as their meal, but were met with the terrible news that Nala-their Queen-had lost her memory.

The group of Nala, Sarabi, Sarafina, Simba, and Tama approached them, making their way up the dirt pathway, all of them besides Nala trying their best to look optimistic. Simba saw the kill waiting and smiled happily.

"Oh look, Nala," he said directly to her. "You can have first take if you'd like."

Nala jumped and giggled like a small cub. "Yay!" she eagerly ran over to the carcass and claimed only a small portion of the rear end. As she ate, she looked around, wondering why no one else was joining in. A lioness noticed and quickly jumped on the stomach area, causing the rest of the girls to get the message. Soon, they were all eating, except for Simba.

The golden lion used this distraction to leave once more. It was around high noon, and the male needed time to think of a plan of action. If Nala was going to get her memory back, she would need more than just time. She would need help too.

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 _A/N: Unexpectedly, this was a mess to write. It took a very long span of time which I loathe doing. If I'm going to write a chapter, I want it all to be relatively close together pertaining to edits and such. But oh well. Things don't always work out how I planned. Anywho, I hope you still enjoyed._

 _Next Chapter: Zazu learns about Nala's condition and decides that he wants to help her by retelling a few memories of theirs. But will these memories help, or_ scar _the lioness?_


End file.
